As conventional processes for producing isopropyl chloride, the following processes are known.
(1) A method of reacting isopropyl alcohol with hydrochloric acid (DE509265, BP1042705).
(2) A method of reacting propylene with hydrochloric acid or hydrogen chloride in a solvent (FR1526687, DE1805805, DE1801716, USP4661341, JP-A-60-178831).
(3) A method of reacting propylene with hydrogen chloride in a gas phase, in the presence of aluminum oxide which is not reacted with a hydrogen halide (JP-A-50-130702).
However, the conventional processes have following problems.
In the process (1), the conversion is low. In the process (2), when the reaction temperature is high, polymerization of propylene occurs, and the catalytic activity remarkably decreases. When the reaction temperature is low, the conversion decreases. Further, in the liquid containing the reaction product, the corrosive catalyst is accompanied, whereby there is a problem that the purification process may be complicated, or the purification apparatus is required to be made of an expensive corrosion-resistant material. Further, in the process (3), from a practical standpoint, it was necessary to maintain the temperature at the time of the reaction at a high temperature of about 100° C. or higher, and the pressure at a high pressure of about 5 atm, namely about 5065 hPa, respectively. Further, hydrogen chloride had to be supplied also at a high pressure. In order to maintain the pressure of the hydrogen chloride to be high, it is required to employ an expensive apparatus made of a corrosion-resistant material. Thus, the conventional processes have been disadvantageous as industrial processes.